The Golden Gazette

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a fun and SAFE time trick or treating tonight.

Just a couple of notes that I want you to have before my regular update...

If you are interested in ordering from Scholastic, the brochures were sent home last week.  If you need another one, please let me know.  You can access scholastic on line to order.  The user name is:  mrsgoldens4thgrade  the password is:  4thgrade  I will send the orders to scholastic on November 11th.  If you are ordering gifts, let me know and I will contact you about picking the items up when they come in.  This will the last order before Christmas. 

Halloween candy - if you end up with candy that you do not want to keep in the house, please know that you are welcome to send it in to our classroom.  Halloween candy makes great treats throughout the year. 

We have a lot happening here at GM.  Students are off on Tuesday 11/4 for election day.  Wednesday 11/5 Wellstar will be visiting our classroom and talking to us about nutrition.  I will not be here that day, but Mrs. Ostrowski will be substituting.  We have guidance on Thursday.

We will have a farewell "party" for Mrs. Verma on Wednesday 11/12.  Her last day with us will actually be 11/14, but I will be at classes on the 13th and 14th, so we will say good-bye on Wednesday.  Thursday 11/13 is our 2nd High Touch.  Picture retakes are Friday 11/14.

The GM Book Fair begins on Monday 11/17.  I will be out on 11/17-18 because my husband is having surgery (minor, but it still requires me to be there with him.)  Progress reports will go home the week of 11/17.  Our grandparents/special friends lunch is on 11/20 at 12:25.  We will have a program in the room at 12:10, before the lunch.  Our Thanksgiving Feast will be on 11/21 (details will be coming home soon.)

We have Thanksgiving Break 11/24-28...then we'll be back working hard for another 3 weeks before Christmas.  During that time we will have another High Touch, a winter party, and lots of testing before the end of the grading period. 

It's going to be a busy couple of months, but learning will happen every day.  I hope your children are having as much fun being here as I am.

Have a great weekend, and a wickedly wonderful Halloween!

It's almost Halloween!

Can you believe that October is almost over?  Friday is Halloween!!!

It's Red Ribbon Week and that means lots of fun ways to show we'll say No! to drugs.  On Monday, wear your favorite team shirt.  Tuesday is silly hair day.  Wednesday is pajama day.  Wear as much RED as possible on Thursday and Friday wear black and orange.

Don't forget that this is also the last week to donate to the Cobb County Humane Society.  Wasn't it fun seeing some of the animals they care for?  Student Council will be looking for your donations this week.  On Friday, Miss Joy comes back to pick up everything you've donated.  A big thanks to everyone who has brought something in for the Humane Society.

And now...here's what we will be doing this week...

In language arts, we will be finishing our narratives.  You will begin publishing them in computer lab on Wednesday.  Make sure your 2nd draft is finished before Wednesday morning so you can begin typing your final draft.  We will also learn about similes and metaphors this week, review subjects & predicates, and review types of sentences.  We will begin discussing subject/verb agreement and continue working to include strong verbs in our writing.  We will test on subjects/predicates and types of sentences next week.

We will finish our Frindle presentations this week and you will learn about your next reading project...a skeleton book report...just in time for Halloween.  You will be reading mysteries for this book project.  Remember to choose books on your reading level, and they should be at least 100 pages.

In science, we will continue to learn about force and motion.  We will talk about speed, distance and Newton's Laws of Motion this week.  We will also learn more about simple machines.  You learned a lot at High Touch/High Tech last week, I hope you bring that knowledge with you to science this week.

In social studies, we will continue to learn more about explorers.  You already know who Marco Polo and Christopher Columbus are, now you will learn more about John Cabot, Amerigo Vespucci, Juan Ponce de Leon, Balboa, Magellan, Cartier, Hernando de Soto and Henry Hudson.

We will also finish our penpal letters this week.  I plan to mail them back on Friday.  Remember, I need to help you revise and edit them before  you start your final draft.  And yes, your final draft must be in cursive.

In spelling, we will work on there, their and they're this week.  This is a skill you will need to work on constantly for the rest of the year.  It's important that you use these words correctly in all of your writing.  You enjoyed a week off from challenge words, but you will have them for Nov. 3rd.  The challenge words to study this week are: divisor, dividend, quotient, friend, explorer, pulley, lever, fulcrum, wedge, axle, inclined plane, and narrative.

On Thursday, Garrison Mill will take part in a mock election.  This is a Cobb County Schools activity.  The county wide results will be announced on Friday.

Congratulations to everyone who made Honor Roll or Principal's List.  You will be on the news broadcast this week!

Art club will meet on Tuesday and Thursday this week.

  Everyone got to see the fire engine last week!  Great job on your fire safety tests!  It was cold, but a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed watching them put the ladder up on the fire truck, didn't you?

Don't forget that next Tuesday, Novemeber 4th, you will not have school.  It is election day.  Your parents will be able to come in and vote, and teachers will be working...but you get the day off.

Question of the week...Can you name one simple machine?  Can you name all six?  If you answer on the blog, ask me for a "sweet treat"!

Have a great week!

Pancake Breakfast

Pancake Breakfast
and Raffle
Saturday, October 25th
7-11 AM
$5.00 Pre-Sale Tickets
$5.50 at the door

Foundation Pancake Breakfast

The Garrison Mill Foundation is having a pancake breakfast this Saturday.  Come enjoy pancakes and fun from 7 - 11 AM.  If you pre-pay by Wednesday (tomorrow) the cost is $5.00 or you can just pay $5.50 at the door.

Enjoy a great breakfast and help the Garrison Mill Foundation in their quest to increase technology in our classrooms.

It's finally fall!

Isn't this weather great?  You've been studying about weather for a few weeks, and you finally got to see both rain and cooler temperatures.  What kind of front came through Atlanta?

Last week was fun!  We had a good time at our behavior party.  Thanks to all of the moms and dads who sent in canned drinks, candy bars and popcorn!!!  Our auction was a BIG hit.  I can't thank you enough for all of the great "stuff" you sent in...we all really enjoyed it.

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to the next few weeks.  Don't forget about your fire safety test on Tuesday.  Use your pretest and booklet to study.  If you do not have all of your quizzes done, and a signature on the pages in the booklet, you will not be able to see the fire engine on Thursday.  You must also pass the test to see the fire engine.  There are no retakes of the test, so do your best.

I hope you studied for your spelling test on Monday.  You are getting better and better at learning your challenge words and your spelling words.  Beginning this week, any words that are on the 4th grade spelling list, and that we have already tested on, will need to be spelled correctly on all of your work.  We are not learning these words just for the tests...they are words you will use for the rest of your life. This is your fall "break"...no challenge words next week.  You will still need to do your unit work and we will have a regular test, but no challenge word test.  Enjoy!

We are finishing up Frindle this week.We will present our Frindle projects, all questions are due by Monday.  Your packet is due on Wednesday.  We will review what you read on Wednesday and the test will be on Thursday.  I hope you enjoyed the book as much as I did. 

I know that you are reading a new AR book.  You must take (and pass) at least one AR test by Halloween.  Please take it as soon as you finish your book.  Our next book project will be to read a mystery.  I have a special skeleton book report that we will be doing with our mysteries.

We will also be finishing our narratives.  Mrs. Verma will be working with you on your closings.  I will work with you on revisions and editing your work and then we will publish.  I can't wait to read your stories.

We will finish working on subjects and predicates and types of sentences this week.  We will test on both by the end of the week.

In science, we will begin learning about forces and motion AND simple machines.  We will have High Touch/High Tech on Wednesday to introduce simple machines.

We begin studying explorers in social studies.  You read about many explorers in your USA Studies Weekly.  We will learn even more over the next few weeks.

I will be back teaching the class full time starting Wednesday.  I know you will miss having Mrs. Verma teaching, but she will still be here at GM until the middle of November.  She will be helping in our class, as well as observing in other classrooms in the building.

Have a great rest of the weekend and be ready to learn next week!

Question of the week:  What would you like to tell Mrs. Verma about her time with us?

What's Happening......week of October 13, 2008

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  The weather was beautiful and it is beginning to feel like fall.  We have a busy week and most importantly, a big celebration on Wednesday at our behavior party.  I know it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

This week we will continue Fire Safety with the fire fighters.  Don't forget to have your escape plan completed and signed by your parents for Tuesday.  Remember to read lessons 4 and 5 also.  Did you practice your escape plan? Was it successful?  I hope so.

On Wednesday, your Frindle project is due.  Don't be late!  I can't wait to see all the projects.

We finish up our study on weather this week.  I know you will all be ready for the test on Friday, Oct. 17.  You will have the study guide to review for the entire week.  We will play SUNO (like bingo) again for review and complete some fun activities to help us remember all we have learned.

We will work on our narratives and talk about closings.  How do I end the narrative?  We should begin the revising and editing process towards the end of the week.  We will also talk about subjects and predicates.  Can you identify the subject and predicate of a sentence?  If not, you will!

Challenge words for the week (test on October 20):

fuel, oxygen, escape, compound, astrolabe, navigation, subject, predicate, narrative, behavior, closure, adjective

Question for the week: What's so special about Monday?

Post your answer on the blog.

See you Monday,

Mrs. Verma

Last reminder

I will be sending the Scholastic order in on Saturday morning.  If you need another flier, I have a few extras, so let me know.

Science test on our Measuring the Weather book on Thursday.

Health test on Friday...we will finish the unit today and tomorrow. Homework tonight will be a review for the test.

Our big science test on weather will be next Friday (Oct 17th).  A study guide will come home soon.

Next Wednesday is a big day!  Early release, behavior party (I'm still looking for a parent volunteer for popcorn in individual bags), and our Auction.  If you can help by sending auction items, it would be deeply appreciated.  Oh yeah, Frindle projects are due on Wednesday, too.

Report cards go home on Thursday, October 16th.

Have a great rest of the week.

YEARBOOK

EARLY BIRD SPECIAL $22*
Nov. 1st price increast to $25*

On-line ordering available at:  http://www.myyear.com
*Note:  cost includes taxes.  Does not include 1x $1.75 processing fee per transaction, multiple items per order allowed.  Be sure to print & keep your confirmation for proof of payment.

ORDER FORMS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE CREDENZA OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE.

1st grading period auction

It's time for our 1st 9 week grading period auction.  Can you believe it?  The 1st grading period ends Friday!!

Your children have been earning money by doing their classroom jobs, being at school on time and not getting marks for behavior and/or homework.  It's time for them to spend it!

We are in need of items to auction off in the classroom.  Cool notebooks, books, calendars, dollar store items, markers, pens, keychains, shoelaces...anything you think a 4th grader might like to purchase with their hard earned money. (If it is ok to put unsold items into our treasure box, please let me know.  If you would rather I held on to them until the next auction, let me know that, too.)

We will hold our auction on Wednesday 10/15.  We will also have our behavior party that day...and it's early release.  Should be an exciting day!

Speaking of the behavior party, I have drinks and candy bars, but I will need a volunteer to pop popcorn and put it in individual bags for the class.  I will let you know how many students will be attending. 

Students may bring movies that day.  We will vote on which one we watch.  They need to be DVD's, rated G, and less than 110 minutes.  That is all the time we will have.

Thanks for all you do!!

What's Happening....Week of October 6, 2008

Hi Everyone!

We are off to a busy week so be ready for action!  We start Fire Safety on Tuesday and will continue through the month of October.  The firemen will meet with us Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8am-9am this month.  Also, on Friday we will have an in-school field trip presented by Well-Star.

We will continue our USA studies in guided reading groups.  Our quiz will be on Thursday.  Remember you can use your newspaper but it is wise to be familiar with the articles and know the information.  I know you will all do great on it!

I hope your rain gauges are in place at home.  We will monitor our class weather station all week and chart our weather reports.  We will also get back to the book, Measuring the Weather.  We will read the book again and spend time reading the graphs and information throughout the book.  On Thursday we will have a quiz.  Remember to listen closely and read carefully so you will be prepared for the quiz.

In Language Arts, we will work on our narratives.  We will focus on adding details and concrete language.  We will also look at books that have great examples of these elements.  Have you ever read a book and you could see exactly what was happening because of the language the author used? 

Don't forget the Spelling test on Monday.  Study those challenge words!

This week's challenge words (tested on October 13): multiplication, division, distributive, associative, conflict, resolution, climax, sensory, author, punctuation, symbol, self-esteem, peer pressure.

Question for the week:  How old is Mrs. Golden and when is her birthday? Remember she told you in class on Friday.  Were you listening?

Post your answer on the blog.

See you Monday morning!

Mrs. Verma